Plexxi (finally) uncloaks: Welcome to a smarter way of networking

After almost two years, we are officially launching our complete software defined network (SDN) system and unveiling our first two products – Plexxi Control and Plexxi Switch 1. These products are the first of their kind, and together, will change the way you build enterprise and cloud networks.

In that time, there’s been an ever-escalating amount of industry and media attention focused on the concept of SDN. We certainly agree that it’s high time the industry recognized the shortcomings of the current enterprise network technology. However, we are sure that a new layer of software on top of conventional (inflexible and over-complicated) network architectures can not possibly deliver the hoped-for improvements in flexibility, efficiency, scaling, and reliability.

So, while many have been busy talking about SDN, or SDN-washing aging product portfolios, we’ve been busy building and installing the world’s first complete and fully software-defined networks. That’s why today’s news is so exciting.

The demand on today’s network has grown exponentially. Major transformational IT forces like big data, virtualization, cloud computing and XaaS have created new application connectivity requirements and more intense workloads. Unfortunately, the conventional way of networking – hierarchies of switches and layered, distributed protocol stacks – just can’t keep pace.

Software overlays and separated control/data planes do address important configuration and scaling issues, but fundamental problems remain. The grim reality is that the vast majority (as high as 97% in real-world networks) of the cost and complexity invested in current networks provide zero functional value. But that is something we can change.

At Plexxi, our premise is that in order to create a software-defined network, you need to start with a network that can truly be defined by software. This means getting rid of the notion that a network is defined from the wires-up. Instead, it should be defined by its ability to connect applications and workloads dynamically, from the top-down.

At Plexxi, we’re convinced that networking doesn’t have to be so difficult, frustrating and costly, and certainly doesn’t have to be a black art. So we’ve made it better. Further, we are committed to make our networking products the easiest to buy, easiest to install, and easiest to operate. We’ll tell you what we have, what it does, and how much it costs, transparently and directly.

That’s why we’re so thrilled to announce the first complete SDN system and make our first two products (the first of many more to come) available to the market. We cannot thank our customers and partners enough for joining us on our journey to transform the decades-old way of building enterprise networks. We are excited and confident in what the future of networking holds – and the part we will play in making that future happen.

Reviewing the Plexxi content on your site fired multiple “mini epiphanies” that helped complete the vision and strategy of the Secure Enterprise Web 3.0. All the pieces of the SDN puzzle seem to fit together now.

It’s digital deja vu all over again! 🙂

I would be interested in blog coverage on virtualized multi-tenancy use cases. Currently have solution coverage with Vmware 5.0/5.1, Arista Networks, Coraid and Veeam.

Will need to scale this solution in the future to grow revenue in new markets.